So, how many times have I said that building a global automotive brand isn’t rocket science? How different can people’s attitudes about cars really be?
And, given my experience with cars, everyone always feels compelled to discuss their automotive purchases with me. But my first such conversation with an Australian colleague caught me off guard.
It all started familiarly enough. ‘Yes, I know I should consider a Nissan, they are our client, but the brand is not so cool. My wife just can’t see herself driving one….’
Yes, I had been to this party before. I was just waiting for the next sentence to be about a Honda, a VW, an Audi, a BMW, a Porsche…. And then it came...
‘So, we’re going to buy a Peugeot instead’
A WHAT??? That funky French brand that left the market in the US and no one noticed they were gone? THAT is cooler than a Nissan? I might as well have been talking to a three-headed alien at the Space Bar in Star Trek.
The next week, a friend who has all the means in the world to drive anything, picked us up in his…you guessed it Peugeot. Now I’m sensing a French conspiracy. How could this be happening?
Up until then, I hadn't really taken notice of the cars in on the narrow streets of my neighborhood, as not unlike the narrow streets in my neighborhood in Long Beach, most of the cars had luxury badges. Mercedes, BMW’s, and maybe a few more Aston Martins than at home (blame that on the Brits), but nothing unusual??
Ah but look more closely. The badges are not attached to big honkin’ SUV’s. They’re not even attached to stately sedans. Instead they are attached to little econo-hatchbacks! Little econo-hatchbacks, with little engines that sell for over $50,000! (US or AUS, it’s the same these days) HUH?
OK, you could say the same for the SUV's and sedans, but they're, well, BIG. And all Americans know the value of BIG....cars, houses, not to mention closets, which I previously have.
But I guess at the end of the day, it means that these brands are stronger than the products, which is what branding is all about. And I guess global brands can deliver the same promise in different packages for different sensibilities.
But I’m still going to have to find a rocket scientist to explain the PEUGEOT phenomena to me.
Okay I'm in a different space -- I want to test drive the 2.0 engine on a new Suburu Impreza (available in AU but not yet in US). But I'm afraid if driving on the left side of the road. So can you try one and let me know? It would be a humbling experience for you, I realize!
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